Iota

The Iota magazine was started by the 500 Club in 1947 and lasted until 1953 when it was merged with "Motor Racing".

Many well known names contributed including Brockbank, Dick Caesar, John Cooper, SCH "Sammy" Davis, Dean Delamont, John Gale, Gregor Grant, Guy Griffiths, Cyril Kieft, Stirling Moss, John Siddall and many others.

Introductory Editorial - April 1947

The main object of “Iota” is to provide interesting literature to the enthusiast. At the moment, I think I am right in saying, there is no magazine which caters completely for the amateur builder of motor cars. It is hoped, therefore, that “Iota” will provide for the amateur builder that very necessary requirement.

I, as Editor, am an amateur builder – I have also a certain amount of experience in print – these are my only qualifications for the job. I am, therefore, very much open to constructive criticism and definitely want readers to state their requirements and give opinions on various articles which they will see each month.

The Club’s primary function is to assist the ordinary man in the street to obtain motor racing at something like an economical cast. This is an ideal which we hope will be very shortly attained, and the magazine will be working along these lines, in order to assist the Club and the reader.

It is going to be, sometimes, rather difficult to get results, photographs and write-ups of the various meetings in which 500’s and “Specials” will be competing. Any member or reader, who feels the slightest inclination to assist will be more than welcome, and is requested preferably to get in touch with the Editor before the meeting in question, or if this is not possible, after it is not too late.

What's in a name? Editorial May 1947

Articles from "Iota" are scattered throughout this site but here are a few more:

A Simple Explanation of the National Unsupercharged Formula

By A.C.H. Harding, Secretary of the Technical Panel, published April 1947.

Racing Plugs by I.K. Gough.
The Norton Clutch by Derek Wyborn published in 1953.

500 Racing was very competitive as this tongue in cheek cartoon by Raymond Groves illustrates.

Even in the early days, the issue of the have's and have not's arose. Here a letter by B.T. Pritchard-Lovell, published in Iota September 1947 suggests a solution:

A cartoon from December 1950 by Gerald Spink, creator of the Squanderbug.